I'm a huge fan of adventure games and I really enjoyed this book which depicted some of the best of them, separated out mostly by developer rather than having them in precise chronological order. I was surprised Zork didn't feature more heavily, although perhaps that's just because it is one of my own personal favourites. I really enjoyed the nostalgia value of revisiting old games, as well as discovering new possibilities for future games to look out for in the genre.

A fascinating look at the history of my favorite genre of video game that comprehensively examines the most important and foundational games in context.

I have been playing adventure games since the very first, appropriately entitled Adventure, game appeared in the 1970s. The History of the Adventure Video Game describes every adventure game from that first game to current narrative games like What Remains of Edith Finch and the Strange Colors series. I love all three of those games so this is the perfect book for me.

Admittedly, some of the historical games’ chapters read like a Wikipedia page. Dry facts with very little insight are provided. However, as we come closer to the present day, the author’s love for the genre comes through more clearly. The latter chapters provide a great way to find new games in this genre. Even I, as an adventure game addict, found a few new ones to check out like Alfred Hitchcock Vertigo and Blacksad: Under the Skin. The book also convinced me to try a few games that I had mistakenly thought were not for me like Return to Monkey Island and Broken Age. The last game discussed is Simon the Sorcerer Origins, which was released in 2023.

The History of the Adventure Video Game would make an excellent gift for the casual gamer in your life. If you are that gamer, check the book out for new games that you might enjoy. 4 stars!

Thanks to White Owl and NetGalley for a digital review copy of the book.

"The History of the Adventure Video Game" is exactly what it says on the cover - a comprehensive history of the adventure game genre from the original text-based games through the titles in the major 80's publishing houses Sierra and LucasArts, classics such as the Myst series all the way through to Borderlands, Minecraft Storymode and the new modern games.

From a pure nostalgia standpoint, this was a joy to read and revisit some old favourites I'd half forgotten. I was a little disappointed to note that some of my all-time favourite adventure games didn't make the cut, and the book does not explore the MMOs - these are all standalone games.

From a timeline standpoint, I would have liked to have had all of the games in chronological order; rather when we explore Sierra and LucasArts games the book focuses on each of these , and aggregates all their titles in the one chapter. Personal preference - I would have liked a timeline of what each of the gaming houses were doing in competition with each other as each title was released. How did the competition drive innovation?

It's a fascinating book for both old-school gamers and those researching the genre further.

~Many thanks to Netgalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review~

A very good and efficient overview of the adventure game history. The many screenshots bring back nostalgia with a hit, and I really appreciated the last part which presented really recent games.
An easy read and a must have for video game students ! All you need to know is in there !

This is, as the title suggests, a comprehensive history of adventure video games from the very earliest text-based adventures through to Nineties classics like The Secret of Monkey Island through to the present. The book ultimately cannot be faulted for fulfilling the terms of its brief and will undeniably prove very useful to some people. Personally, I wasn't really interested enough in the subject, but this isn't the fault of the book or the author.

A brisk and enthusiastic overview of one of my favourite genres in gaming. Carton explains the importance and popularity of the best-remembered games from the genre (Monkey Island, Myst, The Walking Dead, while also delving into some of the less well-remembered but still interesting titles (Shivers, the CSI games, er, Softporn Adventure). The book is well illustrated, with most entries getting at least one screengrab that captures the mood and style of the game.

However, it could have done with more of a story and more behind-the-scenes info and contextualisation; it often feels like a collection of summaries rather than a coherent narrative that traces the evolution and innovation of the genre. Some entries are a little under developed – the entry on Sherlock Holmes games, in particular, feels like an intro for a chapter that wasn't.

Of course, wanting more isn't the worst criticism and this really is a fun little book that left me feeling quite warm and nostalgic. It'd be a great introduction to the genre for newcomers, while more seasoned fans will appreciate the warm tone and the reminder of some titles that might not have thought about for a while.

What a fun trip down memory lane! I played a number of these games growing up and it was a blast to revisit them if only by reading about them. Long time adventure game fans will love the nostalgia of this and fans new to the genre will have so many choices to seek out to play today!

The History of the Adventure Video Game, written by Christopher Carton, will be released in September of 2023. Pen & Sword provided an early galley for review.

I've been a video gamer since my high school days, spending time at the arcade or with our Atari 2600. My first computer was a Commodore-64, for which I had a lot of video games including several mentioned in this book. So, I am easily in the target demographic for this trip down gaming's past.

The book starts out with the classic text-adventure games. These were the ones where you are given a scene description and then had to type a command as to what your character would do. Often simple two-word statements, it moved the story along and determined success or failure for an action. I enjoyed games like Zork quite a bit back in the 80's and even had bought some software that allowed a person to build their own text adventure games from scratch (I made one that used popular movies as clues to help escape being stranded in a small town).

The author does a good job including screenshots from actual games discussed. This is especially useful when the book moves to some of the more visual adventure games starting with the second chapter. This shows how the genre was quickly evolving as the technology of the game platforms was evolving as well.

Overall, it is a quick read yet one that will spark nostalgia for readers who spent hours playing many of these games.

A brilliant look at the history of adventure video games. I'm a big fan of these games so enjoyed reading about them all and found some new ones to try! A good read. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance copy of the book in return for my honest feedback.